India's domestic copper prices remain range-bound w-o-w

India's copper market displayed a range-bound trend, with prices showing a slight increase w-o-w. This can be attributed to the recovery seen in three-month copper futures, which moved up $80-100/t on the London Metal Exchange (LME) to $8,415/t currently.

The copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) market remained range-bound at $8,271/t as compared to the previous week.

Over the past few months, the global copper market has been witnessing a significant decline in inventory levels.

According to data maintained with SteelMint, the inventories in LME-registered warehouses are currently at 57,075 tonnes (t), which is approximately a 2.5-month low. The reduced inventory levels have acted as a counter-balance, preventing a significant drop in prices, SteelMint noted.

The growing demand for copper put pressure on inventories, causing them to decrease faster than they can be refilled.

Peru outlook

Peru's copper production increased by nearly 35% in May compared to the same month last year, reaching 234,781 tonnes. This surge in production is driven by mining companies like Cerro Verde, Antamina, and Southern Copper. Peru aims to maintain its position as the world's second-largest copper producer.

Imported market scenario

In the imported market segment, the prices of copper motor scrap originating from the US were recently noted at $1,110-1,130/t, reflecting a marginal w-o-w decrease of $25/t on CIF Mundra basis.

Around 50 t of US-origin copper motor mix were traded at $1,100/t CFR Mundra recently.

Around 40 t of birch cliff US-origin were traded at 91% of LME's 3-month prices recently.

MCX copper prices inch up

Copper prices on the MCX rose 0.8% to INR 721,000/t today w-o-w.

Copper armature scrap prices in India stood at INR 686,000/t, while secondary rod prices rose by INR 6,000-7,000/t w-o-w to INR 730,000/t.

LME copper futures moved up $80-100/t to close at $8,415/t today as against $8,320/t on 5 July.

Conclusion

Copper prices have been experiencing mixed movement recently. Last month's rally was unable to surpass the peak reached in mid-April at $9,000/t level, indicating uncertainty in the market's direction for copper prices.